How I Knew I Was Ready to Be a Mom
We get a lot of questions about when and how we knew we were ready to have a baby, or at least ready to try. And, oh, that is just the million dollar question, isn't it?
So let's back up a bit...
When we got married, we said we'd have babies in five years. You know, the five-year plan. We married young (22 & 23), and it just seemed like a good number of years to wait.
The years went by...and we took advantage of being just the two of us.
- Fell absolutely, madly in love
- Bought a house
- Took at least one vacation out of state every year
- Played in summer and winter recreation volleyball leagues
- Volunteered at our church
- I went skydiving
- Enjoyed going to concerts, musicals, weddings and other events
- Got responsible with our money
- Had a blast being aunt Kiki and uncle Ric
- Found jobs we liked (at the same company)
- Worked on our marriage
And then we were like...wait, did we mean we'd have a baby at five years, or just start trying?
I was ready first. When I turned 26, something happened in me that said, "Hey, I think I'd like to have a baby some day...soon?!" It literally happened right after my birthday. Eric wasn't ready to even talk about it.
The next year, I read a book called "What to Expect Before You're Expecting" and prepped my body for pregnancy. Eric was still a little hesitant, but a lot of things on our "list" to do before kids had been done! And you're never really ready, right?
It seemed like most of the puzzle pieces were in place, so we decided to give it a try! It didn't happen right away. It took eight months. (Which was long and short, all at the same time.)
I am 13 weeks pregnant (and know it) in this photo:
And Roo was born five months after our five-year wedding anniversary.
And now we realize how crazy, fun, awesome, scary and life-changing it is to have a baby.
So, maybe I wasn't ready. Maybe I never would have been.
But I do believe it was time.
- Time to live for more than myself.
- Time to open my heart to something bigger.
- Time for an adventure.
- Time for personal and spiritual growth and development.
- Time to multiply our love.
How did YOU know you were ready to have kids?
P.S. I also love Erin's story - as someone who didn't know if she would ever want kids - on why she decided to expand her family!